Pitchfork

At 10, Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo shaved his head and tried to be a monk, if we can identify him with the narrator (always a dicey proposition) of Pinkerton's classic "Across the Sea". The video for "Blast Off!", from recent solo release Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo, begins with some monk-like chanting as a mustachioed Cuomo flails his arms wildly outdoors, doing tai chi or perhaps just stretching. He's wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a winter cap, but he's got some exercises scheduled, so when the recording goes, "Get me another bottle of beer," dude takes off his pants. On the chorus, the scene changes, and we see guys on bikes, and the funny not-haha subject of "Across the Sea", Japanese schoolgirls. Cuomo jumps up and down on a trampoline during the song's talking-guitar solo, and when the music cuts off abruptly, he's painting black and orange lines on sheets of paper. Show 'em you're a tiger, Rivers.

Video:> Rivers Cuomo: "Blast Off!"
[from Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo; out now on Geffen]